Influencer Credibility and Purchase Intention in India: The Role of Demographic Heterogeneity and Experiential Effects
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66635/dys86z88Keywords:
Influencer marketing, influencer credibility, purchase intention, demographic heterogeneity, experiential learning, social media marketing, IndiaAbstract
In today's era of increasingly digitally influenced consumer behaviour, emerging markets, including India, have seen a growing trend toward using influencers as part of a digital strategy to influence consumer decisions. To date, however, there is little empirical research on how demographics may influence the extent to which an individual's perception of an influencer's credibility relates to their intention to make a purchase. This study explores the relationship between an influencer's credibility and individuals' purchase intentions in India, while controlling for experiential and demographic factors. A total of 500 Indian social media users were surveyed. Through SEM and MGA testing, we explore both the direct and indirect effects of influencer credibility on purchase intention and examine the conditional effects of demographics (e.g., age, gender). Our findings indicate that, contrary to our expectations, an influencer's credibility does not directly affect the purchase intentions of the combined sample; instead, prior experience with influencer-promoted products significantly predicts reduced purchase intentions (i.e., experiential learning and increased cynicism toward influencers over time). Further, MGA revealed that demographic variables (psychological distance) and social network (peer WOM) significantly reduced purchase intention among specific demographic segments of respondents (gender). Collectively, these findings demonstrate that, unlike some past studies suggest, the efficacy of influencer marketing in India is influenced by a variety of experiential and demographic factors rather than simply the perceived credibility of the influencer. As such, this study provides additional insights into the conditional nature of influencer persuasion within the Indian digital marketplace as well as suggests actionable segmentation-based influencer marketing strategies for marketers.
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